A Portuguese man was sentenced on Thursday to two years in prison by a court in Nottingham, England, due to his participation in a marriage of convenience with a Zambian woman.
The jury did not believe a word of the testimony of Nuno Moreira, 29, and Leya Mtonga, 39, that the October 22nd ceremony this year at a registry office was genuine and decreed that both were guilty of conspiracy to facilitate immigration illegal.
A marriage of convenience is when a non-European citizen marries a complete stranger from within the EU with the intention of obtaining a long term residence visa, as well as the right to work and claim social benefits.
At the same trial two Nigerians were convicted. They had allegedly married women with Portuguese passports, one of which never even entered the United Kingdom as a woman of similar appearance was substituted.
Michael Eke, 39, of Hazlewood Road, Hyson Green, married a woman who had a Portuguese passport at a Nottingham church in 2009.
The bride allegedly had two children by someone else and was claiming benefit in Portugal.
A mysterious middle man, long gone, ran an agency to help immigrants but in fact recruited Portuguese to marry non-European citizens near their visa expiry date.
During the trial, the prosecutor presented evidence of at least seven more of these sham marriages and the involvement of 18 other people.
